Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Delphos:
One of the most well known physical trace case is the Delphos, Kansas, USA landing event of 2 Nov 1971.

A boy named Ronald Johnson, reported observing an object, initially on the ground, and then taking off into the sky. His parents also saw the object when it was in the sky. A glowing ring was seen on the ground. (Click here for full details.)

A sample of the soil was found to have a white filamentous substance in it, about which, researcher Jacques Valle, wrote, in March 1974 "...that no one had taken the trouble to identify in the years elapsed since the landing." (Vallee. Forbidden Science Vol II, p.242. Click here.) Vallee had the sample analysed and reported the findings. "An analysis of the white matter in the glowing ring left after the sighting disclosed the presence of a Nocardia fungus that seemed to have been stimulated by an unknown radiation." (p.250.) This raises the possibility that the trace in this case was in fact of fungal origin.

"Fairy rings":

Based on my own investigation of a number of unusual ground traces within Australia, a number of these do indeed seem to be due to "fairy rings."A catalogue of Australian UAP cases I prepared (click here) has many examples, e.g. Ca. 1950, Bostobrick; 27 Jan 1969 Wasleys; Early June 1971 Tellebang.

The fungi are a large group of plants and are characterised by two important features. They are non-green plants devoid of chlorophyll and the plant body is characteristically composed of branching and thread-like structures termed hyphae. Fungi thrives in any environment that provides proper conditions for growth. They thrive in soil, in leaves, and in dead remains of plants and other organic materials such as foods and leather.

The ground markings they cause are found mainly in fields, paddocks, on reserves and lawns. The fruiting bodies of the gill and other fleshy fungi grow in lawns and paddocks, and can either produce single or circular colonies of mushrooms and toadstools. These rings of fruiting bodies are known as "fairy rings." Legend has it that if you step into such a rind you can hear fairies singing, and that they can abduct you and take you off to "fairyland." Sometimes, never to return. Even if you do return,, time as you know it will be different from that in fairyland. You might spend a week in fairyland, come back, only to find hundreds of years have gone by in your time. (For more on the folklore aspect click here and here.)

The perennial mycelium (the collective interlacing tangle) of the fungus begins growth in the centre of the ring to be, and then over time spreads outwards (causing the dead perimeter ring). Other mycelium in the inside of the ring die, when the organic matter in the soil has all been used up. After the soil regenerates due to water, fertilisers etc., you see a dead doughnut shaped band, with a more healthy greener centre and a healthy outside. Thus the ring increases in diameter, year after year, if the conditions are right.

The diameter of such rings varies with age and growth rate. One Internet source (click here) cites a French 600m diameter ring. Based on average annual growth rates it has been estimated that some fairy rings are 600-700 years old (click here.)

This is the time of the year:
In South Australia, the month of May usually has the prefect conditions for "fairy rings" to be noticed.

The three photographs included with this blog post were taken by my wife and myself, at the property named "Carrick Hill" in suburban Adelaide in the month of May one year. There were literally dozens of rings and thousands of fungi on the surface. I have never seen anything like it before, or since.

So, if you get a call to come take a look at an unusual ring shaped trace in a paddock, reserve or lawn, then consider the possibility that it is a "fairy ring" with or without mushrooms/toadstools. Look out for:

* A bare band of soil with seemingly normal grass growth inside and outside the band

* The presence of white threads in the soil

* The finding of mushrooms/toadstools in the mark

* Rings of super rich growth.

If in doubt, take a soil sample and photographs and head off to your local Department of Agriculture; Botanical Gardens or the CSIRO (in Australia) to have them analyse the material for you.

Monday, May 27, 2013

The final two parts of the RAAF's main UAP file series A703, control symbol 580/1/1, parts 34 and 35, held by the National Archives of Australia, have just been digitized, courtesy of Paul Dean of Melbourne.

Part 34 barcode 646593:

The “Department of Air” file, titled
“Reports on flying saucers and other aerial objects” is 167 pages long in the
digital version. There are 18 separate reported sightings on the file.RAAF explanations for these observations
range from “re-entry of 1973-027J,” “Mars, Hamal and Menkar,” to “unknown,
possibly flock of birds.”

Most of the reports are of the lights in
the sky variety, and reading their details as given on this file, I tend to
agree with most of the RAAF’s explanations for the sightings recorded. Perhaps
the most interesting report on the file is the following.

A flock of birds?

Garry and Coral Baldwin, a police
constable and a teacher respectively, on 23 Nov 1973 at 1045hrs, were at
O’Donnell Town, via West Wallsend, latitude 32 deg 53min south and longitude
151 deg 32 mins east. The sky was fine and clear. A number of objects were
sighted against a mountain west of their position, at about 60 deg elevation.
There was an associated loud noise similar to a low flying jet aircraft. They
thought there were between 10 and 15 objects in a loose formation. The total
duration of the sighting was 15-20 seconds. The objects appeared to descend to
tree top height. The colour of the objects was described as white/silver. At the time, the weather was wind from the SSW at 3kts. Visibility was 15 miles. There was 1/8 cumulus cloud at 2,500 feet. The temperature was 22 deg C.

The RAAF investigation revealed that
there were no civilian aircraft in the area, but military planes were in the
area at 30,000 feet. The official RAAF response letter to the witnesses dated 2
Sep 1974 said “…this Department has been unable to definitely determine a cause
of the sighting.”

Part 35 barcode 646598:

This is a “Department of Air,” file, 181
pages long titled “Reports of flying saucers and other aerial objects.” There
are 21 separate reports on it, with RAAF explanations for the observation
ranging from “Venus,” “satellites,” to “hallucinatory or hoax.” Reading the
details supplied by witnesses, I tend to agree with most of the explanations
given by the RAAF.

In conclusion:

This means that all 35 parts are now
available for you to read on the website (click here) of the National Archives of Australia. Go to "search the collection; then "begin your search:" then in "basic search" type the keywords "flying saucers" and click on the search button and up comes the files. Happy reading!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Hi all,Thanks, once again to Melbourne researcher, Paul Dean, three more
parts of the RAAF’s 35 part series of UAP files, has been digitised. These are
file series A703, control symbol 580/1/1 parts 27, 29 and 33. What’s on these
files?

Part 27 barcode 646586:

The file cover says this is a “Department
of Air” file, titled “Reports on Flying Saucers and other aerial objects.” It
is of 94 pages long in the digital version, with a date range of 1973-1973.

The file contains multiple RAAF UAP
forms “Report on Unusual Aerial Sighting.” Each report on the file has a report
form and a response letter from the RAAF signed by G J Odgers, the Director of
Public Relations. By 1973, the RAAF’s Directorate of Air
Force Intelligence (DAFI) took a back seat and the responseletter to
individuals reporting UAP was signed by the Director of {Public Relations) not
a DAFI officer.

The explanations for the reports on this
file range from “light aircraft,” to “meteor,” and “reflection of Sun from ice
layers of cloud.” There are multiple observations of what must have been a
spectacular meteor on 23 Jul 1973 seen from a wide area of the state of Victoria.

Part 29 barcode 646588:

Another “Department of Air” file,
“Reports on flying saucers and other aerial objects” this time 178 pages long.
There are 15 sets of observations, all dated 1973. The explanations put forward
include “Jupiter,” “meteor,” “Cosmos 330” and “Altona oil refinery flames.”

The Sunday Mirror article’s text started
with “Capital city airports around Australia were placed on alert
yesterday morning when two unidentified flying objects crossed the north-west
coast.”

A file note headed “Note of action re
Central Australian sightings – Sep 73 “ told the official version of the story,
which has not to date, received much attention.

“The clippings of f13a and 13b gave rise
to an investigation without formal reporting system.

As a result of a ‘Black September’ scare
emanating from AG Dept PM hours 7 Sep 73 DCA placed airfields in the north west
of Australia on a watching alert for the early hours of 8 Sep. An observer in
Derby reported a/c noise at 0416 DN time. This was almost definitely a QANTAS
flight (QF676) which reported Derby
six minutes later and thought to have given a rather careless position report.
Significantly no a/c noise was heard at the time of the report.

At 0515 and 0545 (DN time), observers at
Alice Springs reported high flying lights.
They did not time the traverse (through an estimated 75 deg) but ‘guesstimated’
about a minute. Mt Stromlo observatory discounts the possibility of a meteorite
shower. The lights appeared much higher than international aircraft in the
area. Although satellite prediction charts are not available for the AS area,
and hence we cannot confirm the assessment, the nature of the sightings
strongly suggests satellite activity which would probably have gone unremarked
but for our Black September friends.

Mr Barlow (Defence science) has been
informed of the assessment.” This note was signed by K R Janson Gp Capt DAFI
and dated 13 Sep 1973.

Another note, labeled “DAFI copy”
attributes “the sighting reported over Derby and
subsequently Alice Springs was a scheduled international flight enroute to Sydney. The second
sighting at Alice Springs, some 30 minutes
after the international aircraft, has been attributed to a space vehicle or
debris…There is no evidence to suggest that Australian airspace has been
violated by foreign aircraft.”

Part 33 barcode 646592:

The third “Department of Air” “Reports
on flying saucers and other aerial objects” is a 213 page file. Like the
previous two files, it contains multiple index cards, and response letters form
the Director of Public relations. Explanations here, range from “meteor,” “space
debris,” “Venus,” “Mars,” and “anomalous propagation.” Finally, there is a rare
explanation for two sightings as “ball lightning.”

Ball lightning?

Police constable M J Harnett of
Boddington police Station in Western
Australia, in a self-typed report dated 3 Dec 1973 to
RAAF base Pearce, described the events of the night of 20 Nov 1973.

Constable Harnett had responded to a UAP
report by a local farmer Peter Stewart, of North Bannister. Mr Stewart’s
separate report on file states that at 2145hrs local time, for 15 minutes, he
had watched at 20 deg SW a “starry blue” coloured light which moved with a
velocity “same as a car 400y doing 10mph.” It intermittently moved around in
the same general area. “It was last observed in a NW direction “around level
150y.” The RAAF investigating officer wrote “Mr Stewart moved along the same
route the following night and saw the same object. He was then fairly convinced
he had seen a star.”

The constable’s statement told how he
and a colleague had observed a “strange light which appeared to be following
the Police Vehicle.” It was coloured amber, which changed to blue and back to
amber frequently. It seemed to follow them for 2 miles, moved ahead of their
vehicle, then stopped 1 mile in front. It then appeared to dim and go out, but reappeared
very brightly in an area where there were no roads, and the terrain was very
steep and rocky. The constable stated that it was not a star. The duration of
their observation was about 6 minutes.

The RAAF Director of Public Relations
wrote to the constable “…the investigating team believes that the most probable
cause of your sighting was a phenomenon known as “ball lightning” or
“kugelblitz.” Mr Stewart, meanwhile was informed by the RAAF that the most
probable cause for his separate observation was “Venus.”

More ball lightning?

Mrs P Kelly of Revesby, New South Wales
on 27 Dec 1973 was near The Entrance at about 2100 hrs local time. Passengers
in her car told her they saw lights in the sky. She slowed the car and an
“…object appeared to come over in our direction.” It looked like an “unfinished
triangle” i.e. two lines of lights in an arrowhead formation. The top row was
coloured lights and the bottom line were red lights. As it passed over the
vehicle it showed red, blue and green lights “…in shapes, in front of the ‘v’
…” Mrs Kelly drove the car off at speed.

The RAAF investigating officer’s report
noted that the weather was thunderstorms, with a violent thunderstorms at The
Entrance at 2130hrs. The cloud base was at 6-7000 feet. Visibility was 4-8nm.
Temperature was 24 deg C. This memo, signed by Flt Lt A F Blackburn stated in
conclusion “Cause of the sighting was most likely a spectral breakdown of white
lights into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet lights, with a
possible diffraction grating caused by ionization of the air.” The Director of
Public Relations’ explanation was simpler “…probable cause was a phenomenon
known as ball lightning.” My reading of the details of the case, suggests the
real explanation was neither of the above!

Unusual radar observation:

The other interesting report on this file
was from a weather observer, Leslie William Onley of Townsville, Queensland.

At 2050hrs local time on 4 Jan 1974 Mr
Onley was using a meteorological radar, type 277F, at Garbutt aerodrome,
Townsville. The weather at the time was overcast with rain in some areas. The
duration of the observation was about 10 minutes. At bearing 280 deg he first
observed a contact. To the question on the RAAF’s report form “What first
attracted observer’s attention?” he answered “There are no signals in this area
at 11 nautical miles/66000ft high. Aerial 85 to 90 deg elevation.”

“What were the bearing and elevation
angles of nearest approach?” “By working slide rule P/B 500 yards at 85 deg and
4600feet.”

To a question about height, he wrote
“First sighted 66000ft descend to 4600 feet in ten minutes.” There were no
stationary phases. To “Describe any deviations or maneuvers” he wrote “ Slight
spin through north to 140 deg.” It was last observed at 85/90 deg el bearing
140 deg T.

“What was the manner of its
disappearance?” “Heavy pulsing on all radar scanners plus ‘A’ scan blotted
traced. Radar parked and turned down.”

“Do you know of any witnesses?” “Visual
sighting by (2) two officers at met office at 0150am 5th.”

“Mr Onley estimated the actual length of
the echo was about 2,800 yards.

DCAradar technicians suggested that the radar may have experienced a period
of ‘heavy pulsing’ during the range wind down stage. Mr Onley is quite certain
that this was not the case, and the radar has not displayed this type of
malfunction since the unusual echo was sighted.”

Mr G J Davy, weather observer at
Garrett, Townsville reported that at 0150hrs local time on 5 Jan 1974 for 5-10
minutes he had seen at 70 deg el and 310 deg az, two, line astern, pulsating
white lights in the sky. They were last seen at 60 deg el 10 deg az
disappearing behind clouds.

The official RAAF explanation as stated
in a letter to the witnesses from the Director of Public Relations was that the
radar observation was “…the effect of anomalous propagation…” while Mr Davey’s
observation was “…the re-entry decay of one of the 3037 man made objects
currently in space.”

Friday, May 24, 2013

National
Archives of Australia (NAA) file series A703, control symbol 580/1/1 is a 35
part series of RAAF UAP reports. The Disclosure Australia Project (2003-2008)
had a large number of these files digitised. However, a small number were never
processed in this way. At the request
of Melbourne researcher Paul Dean, part 12 of
the series, barcode 646560 held by the NAA’s Canberra office has just been digitised. It
makes interesting reading.

Car pacing, and a 'comet':

This is a 219
page digital file titled “Reports on Flying Saucers and Aerial Objects.”
Interesting reports on this file are as follows, in case readers wish to read
the detailed version for themselves.

1.A teletype
dated 20 Jun 1969 from RAAF base East
Sale, Victoria
contains details of a report passed to the base by the local police. Two men
told the police that a bright light in the sky had seemed to pace their car
from West of Bairnsdale to 3 miles south of Stratford.

2. RAAF Base
Darwin reported via teletype dated 16 Jan 1970 that a “comet-like” object was
seen from Alice Springs, NT between 3-7 Jan.. It was a white object
with a long tail to the south-west. The RAAF explanation for this was that it
was either a meteorological balloon or a comet.

3. The Police
Inspector’s office at Deniliquin, NSW in a report dated 23 May 1969 described
how a Mr Dillon at 4am, while sewing barley seed, reported an object the size
of a motor car had come down out of the sky towards his tractor. It had stopped
over his car, some 400 yards from his tractor, remained there for 2-3 minutes
then disappeared to the north. Several mother people saw this object on the
same night of 17 May 1969.

Landing traces, and a photographic case:

4. On 23 May
1969 Graham Longy of Glenorchy,
Tasmania, was in his toilet at
1am when he saw through the window, an object on the lawn adjacent to his
house. There was one bright light with three window lights on top. It seemed to
have lifted straight up. Later, an egg-shaped mark was found on the lawn. My own
Australian wide UAP catalogue contains the following entry:

“22 May
1969Glenorchy TAS1M/Lange
CE2

Mr G Lange noted a bright glowing six
point five metre by three metre high, white object with windows, hovering over
the ground in his backyard. He rushed outside but the object had gone, leaving
a scorched circle three point five metres by two point five metres wide. There
was no sound and no radioactivity was found.(TUFOIC.)”

5. A RAAF
investigation of some unusual ground markings found on St Michael’s golf course
at la Perouse, NSW, in Jun 1969. There is a file note dated 4 Jul 1969 that
states “The Department of Civil Aviation telephoned this Headquarters on the 3rd
July 1969 to report similar sightings at the East Lakes Golf Course on the 27th
June and 30th June.”

This FOI Act
response contains reference to marks on two golf courses.

6. On 5 Jul 1969
a Mrs Martin of Cottesloe, WA reported that at about 5pm while driving
near Roleystone she had seen, high above the tree line in front of her car then
to the right of the vehicle, a metal/silver coloured, oval shaped object. It
seemed to glide and slowly gyrate. It was last seen to view behind her car. Mrs
Martin also stated that at one point in the observation a man with a camera
dashed out of bushes and she nearly ran him over.

The man with the
camera, a Mr Peter Spackman of Cloverdale,
WA also came forward. He said
that at about 4.40pm he was at Roleystone. It was a fine, but cloudy day when
he first saw an object through trees, then above them. It was a solid object in
flight. It was several times larger than the Moon in angular size. The object
turned and banked frequently, occasionally tumbling slowly. It disappeared into
cloud in the west. There was no sound at any time. He used a Polaroid 180
camera to take a photo. The total duration of the sighting was 40 minutes. The
RAAF investigation officer wrote that he had seen the original Polaroid shot
and that “…there does not appear to be any doubt that it is a genuine
photograph of what the observer saw.” There is unfortunately no copy of the
photograph on file.

A HIBAL balloon goes on the run:

7. There are
numerous reports of a balloon-like object to the south-west of Amberley RAAF
Base, Queensland
on 29 Aug 1969. A Canberra
aircraft was sent to investigate and located a balloon at 6000 feet over
Milmerran, Qld. The Mildura Balloon launching station (Project HIBAL) had
launched a balloon on 25 Aug 1969 and “It is probable that this balloon failed
to self-destruct and was then sighted visually in south-east Queensland…”

Finally, a strange gaseous marine observation:

8. In a memo
from the Department of Defence Naval intelligence Division, dated 10 Sep 1969,
the master of the British Merchant ship MV Stenton was at latitude 10 deg 5min S and longitude 110
deg 00 mins E at 1200 hrs Z on 12 Aug 1969. Three crew reported seeing a dull,
glowing object traveling west to east bearing 272 deg at 30 deg elevation. “It
appeared to be of gaseous form and disappeared when directly overhead.”

Scientific research and evidence that UFOs
could exist have been presented for years with the majority of the population
still holding on to the thought that these findings are just “Hollywood tricks”
or coincidence. When presenting legitimate evidence that UFOs may have made an
appearance somewhere at some time it is important not to come out guns blazing
but to gradually let idea of UFOs sink in to the audience’s mind.

Here are 5 very important keys to presenting
evidence of UFOs that I have found to be at least somewhat effective in a
presentation or argument:

1.Be Professional in Your Presentation

A bad stigma UFO
enthusiasts have is that we are individuals that just want attention. It is
slightly annoying when people are so surprised when they see someone in a suit,
tie, and with well-constructed research
poster or
PowerPoint presentation. Show class when you present your findings and you will
find that having the respect of your audience makes them more likely to put
stock in what you say.

2.State the Official Report of An Event That You
Find Suspicious

Never
dive head first into saying such and such was a UFO sighting or something was
left by a UFO landing. Acknowledge what the official story is and start asking
questions about questionable circumstances. For example, if symbols appeared in
the middle of a plain in Asia, state the official story and ask glaring
questions such as who, how, when. Approach it as if you believed it to be to be
done by people and you are just pointing out potential flaws in the story.

3.Use Numbers, It’s Harder For Them To Lie

Exact dates,
measurements, locations, and names are all very pivotal evidence to have. If a
man saw a UFO sixty years ago in the sky and it was fake, what exactly did he
use to fabricate his picture or video evidence? If kids drew symbols in a
field, what did they use to cut or carve them, when did they do it, why?

4.Credibility of Witnesses

The
easiest way to turn truth into a lie is to discredit the person telling it.
When you know of people who have seen government documents regarding UFO sightings, you must be able to bring credit to their
name by saying who they are and what they did to see those documents. There are
people out there who claim to have worked for the government and claim to have
seen documents. Obviously the government has a louder voice than any of us
which makes solid pictures, documents with traceable origin and credibility all
the more important.

5.Do Your Best Not to Accuse Anybody

UFO
sightings have their doubters for many reasons. One of which happens to be the
fact that the authorities or government are good at making people believe what
they want them to. Don’t come out accusing anybody of cover-up, the point of
the presentation is to make the audience think, not condemn those trying to
sway them the other way.

Jessica Reynolds loves researching about the
underlying mysteries of the world. To help others present their findings in an
effective manner she writes for http://www.postersession.com/,
a company that specializes in scientific research posters.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

One intriguing file in the National Archives of Australia (NAA) is file series A663, control symbol O24/1/208 titled "Flying Saucers - Request by P B Hubbard - Daily News Chicago correspondent for information." The barcode is 3032137 with a date range of 1941 to 1941. Obviously, the intriguing thing about this file is the 1941 date, six years before the birth of the modern UAP.

Courtesy of Melbourne researcher Paul Dean the date range mystery for this file has been solved via a digital copy of the file.

The file is eight pages long and was an unclassified Department of Defence file with a main title of "Flying Saucers" and a sub-title of "Request by alt P B Hubbard Daily News. Chicago correspondent for information."

The file opens with a letter dated 13 Aug 1952 from one Mr Fred B Hubbard who signs himself as "Daily News Correspondent" living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Hubbard addressed his letter to "The Hon Philip A McBride, Minister for Defence."

The letter stated that the Chicago Daily News is "...preparing for 66 U.S. and Canadian daily newspapers what is intended to be the most comprehensive examination yet made of the "flying saucer" situation. It goes on to pose the following questions:

"1. Has Australia developed any missiles which have provided a basis for "flying saucer" reports?

2. Is there any evidence in your possession tending to prove or disprove the existence of "saucers" as mysterious aircraft or missiles?

3. Is the Defense Department concerned over the mysterious phenomena Australians have reported seeing in the skies?

4. Is the Department making any investigation into these reports? If so, has the investigation provided any conclusive proof of the existence or non-existence of "flying saucers?"

5. Is there any scientific basis for any concern over these phenomena?"

The Secretary, Department of Defence prepared a draft reply for the Minister's signature after "The question was discussed initially with Professor Martin, Defence Scientific Adviser."

The Minister's reply dated 3 Sep 1952 was as follows:

"With reference to your letter of 13th August 1952, on the subject of "flying saucers," I have made enquiries into this matter and find that my Department has not received any reports of "flying saucers" in Australia which were considered to warrant further investigation."

There is no explanation for why the NAA's RecordSearch shows a date range of 1941 to 1941 when the documents clearly are dated in 1952,

Saturday, May 11, 2013

I did something last night, which I haven't done for a long time. I sat outside in the back garden, in a chair, and took a long look at the night sky.

Doing so took me right back to age eight, when I lived in England in a fairly isolated hill top village. From there, the view of the night sky was excellent. I had really dark skies.

Today, living in Adelaide, the capital of the Australian state of South Australia, street lights cast a strong illumination across my nocturnal view. I can barely see third magnitude stars, with the naked eye. Binoculars are better, extending the limit to which I can see stars.

As an eight year old, I learnt my way around the sky. I memorised the names and outlines of the constellations, and the names of some of the individual stars.Those nocturnal views, back in the late 1950's created the background for my interest in Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP.) Having learnt of some of the wonders of the universe through viewing the heavens, I pondered on the possibility of life elsewhere. In those days there were no confirmed extra-solar planets and the first earth circling artificial satellite had only been launched in the year 1957. The Moon landings were eleven years into the future.

It wasn't until the mid 1960's that I read Jacques Vallee's first two books. These, combined with my developing interest in astronomy, triggered my interest in UAP, which remains with me today.

Sitting outside last night, and thinking about the distance between myself at age eight and my current sixty two years, reminds me that the enigma of UAP still remains unsolved.

Despite the fact that perhaps 95% of all incoming raw UAP reports can be explained in conventional terms, there still remains instances which truly puzzle me, e.g. the 1980 Rosedale, Victoria CE2 case. That's why I retain my interest, even after all these years.

Do you occasionally revisit the basis of your own interest in UAP? For some, it will have been a puzzling personal sighting. For others a sense of scientific curiosity about a case you have heard of. Yet other may have had an intimate encounter with the phenomenon. Whatever the cause, it seems to me that it is really useful to revisit the cause of your own interest, from time to time. Why? Perhaps to remind yourself that yes, that sighting really did take place and remains unexplainable to you. Perhaps to ponder yet again, that intimate encounter which has always puzzled you. Perhaps, simply to remind yourself that science still doe not have all the answers.

So, why not take a few minutes yourself, sit outside; look at the night sky and ponder what's out there and where your own interest came from?

Friday, May 3, 2013

I am emailed from time to time asking me whether or not there has been any further information on a particular post. I thought I would take the opportunity to update you all on a few developments.

1. The 1942 "Tromp" case:
In 1957, an individual named William Jan Methorst of Melbourne, reported a fascinating and oft Internet quoted ( e.g. click here) observation to the Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society. In a letter to the Society, Methorst told how he had been on board the Dutch cruiser "Tromp" when he had sighted a UAP circling the ship. Click here to read my original post with more details.

I wondered if by any chance Methorst was still alive and whether any original documentation from 1942 could still be found. An electoral roll check at the State Library of South Australia did indeed reveal that one William Jan Methorst lived in 1957 at the address shown on the 1957 letter. However, I failed to be able to trace him beyond 1959 when he and his wife disappeared off the Victorian electoral rolls.

Recently, I managed to locate William Jan Methorst in Preston East, Melbourne in the 1954 electoral rolls; then in Reservoir East, Melbourne in 1957 (already found,) then to Fortitude Valley in Brisbane in 1963. At each address up to that date, he was accompanied by a Ruth Methorst, and his occupation was shown as a carpenter.

In 1972, he and Ruth appear in the in the North Brisbane electoral roll with his occupation then listed as caretaker. There is also a Berend Jan Methorst shown as living at the same address as William and Ruth.

I couldn't track either William or Ruth beyond 1972 using the electoral rolls. However, Berend Jan Methorst turns up as late as 1980 in the electoral division of St Lucia, sub-division of Ryan in Brisbane, Queensland.

Using the electoral rolls for 2009, I located Berend Jan to an address is Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT.) I also found that he was listed in the Telstra electronic white pages. I decided to send a letter rather than telephone him. It has now been four weeks since I despatched the letter. Although I put my return address on the back of the envelope, and it has not been returned to me suggesting that he has indeed received it, I have had no reply from him. So, the trail has gone cold on this tantilising 1942 event.

2. 1964 Gum Creek, South Australia entity case:
A classic entity case was reported by a South Australian woman, Doris Player, in February 1964. Click here for my original detailed post. Recently, while watching a You Tube video (click here for video) I found to my amazement that there was a segment on Doris Player and a sketch of the 1964 entity at about the six minute five second mark in a segment mistakenly labelled "Tasmania 1964."

3. American contactee Valerie Ransone:
I ran as series of posts (click here, here and here) about a fascinating individual named Valerie Ransone who was involved with a number of people in he USA including the late US astronaut Gordon Cooper. I located her current whereabouts and sent her messages via Facebook and by direct email asking her if she'd be willing to update us on her research since the 1980's I never received a response.

4. Westall follow-up:
Following up on information given by Canberra based Westall researcher, Shane Ryan, at the May 2012 seminar arranged by the Australian UFO Research Association (AURA) I have been looking for some time for information on American projects which were based in Victoria, Australia in 1966. The purpose of this was to determine any relevance between such projects and the 6 Apr 1966 Westall case.

I recently located file in the National Archive of Australia, file series M1148 control symbol USA-General, barcode 31415823, located in the Melbourne office of the National Archives of Australia (NAA.) The file title was "USA- General (includes correspondence, articles, draft article, and photographs, draft articles include 'Australia's role in the tracking of satellites, and deep space probes; Project Hibal; Operation Crowflight and the significance of American scientific projects in Australia. Regretfully, nothing on the file throws any light on any American project which might have relevance to Westall, except for one possibility, Project Hibal.

This was a joint project between the US Atomic Energy Commission and the Australian Department of Supply; launched high altitude very large sized balloons; and had a chase aircraft which followed all flights. The several hundred kilogram scientific payloads which gathered radioactive particles in the stratosphere, came down under a 40 foot diameter parachute. Launched from Mildura, Victoria, these balloons sometimes drifted as far as Nowra, New South Wales; Canberra, ACT; Eyre Peninsula, South Australia,; and Bendigo, Victoria. A Project Hibal balloon, flight 292 was scheduled for launch on 5 Apr 1966, the day before the Westall incident. I attempted to learn the fate of flight 292, by interviewing five former members of the Department of Supply, Hibal launch team. However, none of them was able to tell me what happened to flight 292. Mysteriously, the chase aircraft's log book, which I located, contained details for flights 291 and 293 but none for flight 292. Was flight 292 somehow implicated in Westall?

NAA file series E499 control symbol C21/4/4 titled "Unidentified Flying Objects Sightings," barcode 4081230 held in the Darwin office of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) , has a date range 1959 to 1965. Courtesy of Melbourne researcher Paul Dean, who requested and paid for the NAA to digitise the file, we can now all go on the NAA website and read the file for ourselves.

What's on it?
The file cover shows that the original security classification was "Confidential." The file is 53 pages long and the cover is marked "Reference Papers Material Only." Beginning in 1959 someone in the Darwin area of the Navy decided, for whatever reason, to start keeping a file on UAP. The material on the file includes:

* A newspaper clipping about the formation of a Darwin branch of the Australian Flying Saucer Society by Darwin resident, Mr Duke Alley. (Uncited clip dated 25 Aug 1959.)

* A newsclip stating that RAAF Chief Group Captain Bolitho had considered sending a RAAF aircraft to investigate a reported sighting that a meteorite or possibly the nose-cone of a rocket had crashed near Howard Springs on Sunday. (Uncited clip dated 1 Sep 1959.)

* A copy of a telex dated 25 Sep 1959 from NOICNA to BASQNDAR which read "The following report was received via OTC from Mr Carter Mandorah. 'A large object 80-100 feet was seen last night at 6.30pm between Mandorah and Doctors Gully - it was a large black shallow object just above or close to the surface travelling at an approximate speed of 80-90mph. The object shot up towards Delissaville Creek. A green verey light shot off from the waters in the direction of north from Mandorah after the object was seen.

At 0715hrs on 25 Sep 1959 the same object was seen off Mandorah and shot up Middle Arm.

There was debate at that time, and with later sightings of what the papers named the "Mandorah Monster" in January 1960 as to whether or not the object was a fish! Marlin were aid to have weighed up to 1500lbs and to travel at speeds of up to 68mph. Another suggestion was that it was a large stingray.

* A 4 Nov 1963 newsclip reported a mystery orange coloured light 10 feet above the water at Racecourse Creek. Ted Moloney and Kevin Young saw it "...rise straight out of the water about 200 yards away...went straight up then travelled in a straight line for about 60 feet before disappearing." There was no sound.

* On 26 Oct 19666 at 1155z observers on the Motor Vessel Kabbarli in King Sound, sighted a conical shaped glow, some half a degree across angular size, bearing 242 degrees at 18 degrees elevation, moving fast to the north-east. The object was lost from view when it was overhead.

* An uncited newsclip dated 4 May 1967 about the USAF funded University of Colorado report.

* On 14 Mar 1968 RAAF Darwin sent the Darwin Navy Staff Office a summary of Unidentified Flying Object sightings which had been made to the RAAF Darwin "for your information" with a copy to Special Branch, NT Police; the Army and ASIO Darwin.

* An uncited newsclip dated 28 Feb 1974 where a newspaper photographer snapped a UAP. The UAP had been seen over Darwin over a few nights beginning 20 Feb 1974 at 0330hrs. It appeared as a cross shaped light and a half-moon shaped object, near the south-east corner of the RAAF base. The photograph is of a bright white light at 0530hrs and taken by a Beat Erismann.

Comments:
This is a rare file, where someone in the Department of the Navy at Darwin was collecting UAP reports. To my knowledge, although there are a scattering of reports from Navy ships on the RAAF's main UAP file series A703 control symbol 580/1/1, this is one of the few Navy files with reports on.